Philippines Hosts First Review Exercise on Export Controls with Singapore; Japan Sits as Observer

MANILA 31 May 2024 – The Philippines, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), hosted the first ever regional peer review exercise in Southeast Asia and the Pacific with Singapore on export controls under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (UNSCR 1540) through a tabletop exercise on 28-29 May 2024 in Manila. Japan, represented by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, served as an observer to the exercise. 

Considered as a milestone in UNSCR 1540 implementation, Ms. Amanda Cowl, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) 1540 Regional Coordinator for Asia, pointed out that the exercise has generated interest among Indo-Pacific states, donor countries, and international stakeholders, with the resulting conversations in the two-day workshop having a “rippling effect” in the region. 

The peer review exercise compared UNSCR 1540 implementation between the Philippines and Singapore, presented by experts from both countries' border security and export control authorities and moderated by UNODA. 

The Philippine side was represented by the DFA, the Department of Trade and Industry Strategic Trade Management Office (DTI-STMO), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

DFA Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations Charles Jose said that the peer review exercise presented a good opportunity to “take stock, measure and assess, where we are, where we wish to go and what future directions to take to get there.” 

“This exercise is not meant to shame anyone or place any participating state on the spot. Rather, it is a multilateral mechanism that allows us to identify points of synergy where we can work together towards a more efficient, effective and impactful implementation of UNSCR 1540,” Usec Jose said. 

The second and concluding phase of the peer-review exercise will be hosted by Singapore within the year. 

The peer review process was made possible with the financial support of Japan, the UNODA 1540 Regional Coordinator for Asia, and the DFA Office of United Nations and International Organizations 

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 was co-sponsored by the Philippines, with France and the UK, in 2004 when the country last occupied a non-permanent seat in the Security Council. The resolution was unanimously adopted. UNSCR 1540 calls on UN Member States to adopt and enforce appropriate laws and other effective measures to prevent the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and their means of delivery to non-State actors. END